Happy Hairston

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Harold "Happy" Hairston (May 31, 1942 – May 1, 2001) was a professional basketball player who played for the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a member of 1971–72 NBA championship team that won 33 games in a row, a record not duplicated in any other American professional sport.

Hairston played college basketball at New York University from 1962 to 1964 and professionally for the Cincinnati Royals and Detroit Pistons before arriving at the Lakers in 1969.

In 1971-72, Hairston grabbed 1,045 rebounds while his teammate Wilt Chamberlain pulled down 1,572. This remains the only time any two NBA teammates have grabbed more than 1,000 rebounds each in the same season. He led the Lakers in both rebounds and field goal percentage during the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons, and set an NBA record for most defensive rebounds in a quarter with 13 (vs. the Philadelphia 76ers, November 15, 1974).

During his 11 seasons in the NBA, Hairston averaged 14.8 points and 10.3 rebounds.

After his retirement in 1975, Hairston established the Happy Hairston Youth Foundation in Century City. With financial help from celebrities like Kelsey Grammer, the foundation found bright children from broken homes and paid for their college education. He also hosted a celebrity golf tournament.

Hairston died at the age of 58 in Los Angeles from complications due to prostate cancer.

[edit] References

• "Former Laker Happy Hairston Dies at 58", Associated Press, May 2, 2001.
• Bio at Basketball-reference.com

Persondata
NAME	Hairston, Harold
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Hairston, Happy (nickname)
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Professional basketball player
DATE OF BIRTH	May 31, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH	May 1, 2001
PLACE OF DEATH	Los Angeles, California